The Outer Worldsis out! This new RPG is set in a highly capitalistic space-faring future, where corporations are the end-all-be-all authority in the universe. Much likeFallout: New Vegas, which the Developers Obsidian Games are most known for,Outer Worldsbrings back the Perk System. Companions can have them, the player character has em, heck even glaring flaws can lead to perks in this game, so there’s quite the abundance of opportunities to spend them.
We’re here to let players know which are the best to grab immediately, and which are still great but are better off used in the latter portion of the game. Here are 5 perks you must get right away, and 5 that you’ll need for the endgame. Heads up,follow this linkfor a list of all the perks so you can follow along with our list!
10Right Away: Toughness And Resilient
People who have been reading up on all the neat stuff inOuter Worldswill notice that most publications are recommending players set the difficulty to Hard for their first playthrough. And quite frankly? We agree. The game is a cakewalk on Normal, and while it’s still easy past a certain point on hard, this difficulty is still the best choice.
That said, the beginning is the hardest part, so we recommend players knab both these perks ASAP, like level 1 and 3 if they can. Why? Because it’ll make the first few groups of Marauders on Edgewater much easier, which helps people get their bearings when it comes to decent Armor and Weapons.
9Endgame: Rolling Thunder
Sure, a lot of these end-game skills are Tier 2 and 3, so players literally can’t grab a lot of them until at least mid-game. But, some of the Tier 2 skills are immediately useful while others only become amazing after certain companions or weapons become available. Rolling Thunder isn’t one of those, it’s insane from the get-go.
Companion abilities are insane inOuter Worlds, your character is invincible during their animation and they’re great tools for Debuffs and stuns. So, having a Harvester-esque ability that keeps them up constantly? Yes please. Especially with SAM and Pavarti, as we can constantly keep entire crowds of enemies knocked down using this tactic.
8Right Away: A Few Bits More
Much like the olderFalloutgames,Outer Wilds’sloot system is absolutely centered around players who spec into the Hack, Lockpick, and Dialog skills. But, with the lockpicking especially, breaking into chests requires a fair bit of Mag-picks, something that doesn’t spawn all too frequently while adventuring.
RELATED:The Outer Worlds Speed-Runner Beats the Game In Less than 25 Minutes
Grabbing this perk early allows players to buy out all the Mag Picks at every Vendor/Vending Machine they find so that they can break into every storeroom, locked chest, and secret passage that they find. Plus it’s helpful for those using the Inhaler slots or people who burn through ammo.
7Endgame: Steady Hand Or Run And Gun
Why are we recommending these skills in the Late Game? Well frankly, because aiming isn’t all too important in the early game. Shotguns, Grenade Launchers, and LMG’s spawn frequently in Edgewater and on the Groundbreaker. Plus, Melee weapons don’t tend to miss.
But, once players start finding Hunting Rifles, Advanced Assault Rifles, and anything with a scope, this becomes much more useful. Plus, TTD is a nifty tool in the beginning, but an absolute necessity once the on-hit effects are unlocked.
6Right Away: Harvester
Vampire/Life Steal abilities are always useful in almost every single game. Being able to regain health by succeeding in combat both feels good and lets the player fight against groups of enemies for longer. And of course, Outer Worlds is no exception. Harvester is a Tier 2 Skill though, so players won’t be able to grab it right away.
Still, it’s not too long of a wait, and after it’s equipped, Harvester will almost immediately show its usefulness in combat. Basically, the bigger the group, the better chance there is for players to survive until the end with full health.
5Endgame: Confidence
Yeah yeah, players can’t grab this Perk until at least like level 15, and that’s only if they take multiple flaws. But, ignoring the level requirement, crit damage doesn’t become all that impressive until at least the Mk 2 weapons start showing up. Player’s don’t need to depend on crits before this point, but once they grab this skill, they won’t need to depend on anything else.
RELATED:5 Things We Love About The Outer Worlds (& 5 Things We Don’t)
Honestly, it’s even great on Melee builds, since 2-handed builds tend to hit multiple enemies at once. That’s why we recommend it for late-game, both because it only shows its true colors with certain weapons, and because it’s not even available until later levels.
4Right Away: Cheetah And Strider
What will players be spending most of their time doing in Outer Worlds? If your answer was shooting, talking, or reading, sorry, but you’re wrong. Moreso than any other activity, players are running around exploring and salvaging in these games. That means constant cardio jogging around tons of different maps.
And that’s exactly why we recommend grabbing Strider almost immediately after the Toughness and Resilient perks, maybe even before then if you’re gutsy. Cheetah is useful as well, but it only becomes essential on Melee Builds where players have to walk while they wait to unleash their Power Attack.
3Endgame: Revenge
Revenge is a bit of a misleading skill. It’s not just a 20% damage increase, but a 20% increase when under a harmful status effect. The thing is the “phobias” in the game count as a harmful status effect. So theoretically speaking, a player could come across the Robophobia flaw, take it, then run around with SAM as a companion.
RELATED:Is The Outer Worlds the New Fallout?
This means they’d always be scared out of their mind, but they’d also be doing 20% more damage 100% of the time. A nifty trick that shows just one side of this potentially potent Perk. It’s not great early, but in the late-game, most enemies cause some sort of Negative effect almost 100% of the time.
2Right Away: Deadly Demonstrations Or Lone Wolf
Now unlike the other recommendations on this list, we don’t want players to grab both of these skills. Rather, they should decide if they want to run with a crew or alone ASAP. Our recommendation? Use a crew. Their special abilities are absurd and they add a ton of amazing dialog and story to the game.
But, for those who want to kill everything on their own, Lone Wolf is essential. Meanwhile, Deadly Demonstrations helps blast through those early levels, although it truly becomes useful later on once Companions can last an entire fight without going down. If that seems like too hard of a choice, don’t worry, Obsidian included a respec option, so nothing is forever!
1Endgame: The Reaper
As we said before, the Tactical Time Dilation mechanic is neat. It’s a fun twist on the VATS system fromNew Vegas, and players are a bit less dependant on it as well. But, that sort of changes in the late game, especially with this Perk. Basically, once on-hit effects are unlocked for melee or ranged weapons in TTD, they open up a whole new ballpark of debuffs for the enemies.
Suddenly players can start every fight by blinding all the enemies or crippling the fastest of the group. So, being able to blind an incoming Raptilian Colossus constantly is an absolutely treasured tactic.
NEXT:The Outer Worlds: Best Weapon and Armor Mods
